Bangkok shutdown: Thai protesters vow to occupy Bangkok for the 'long haul'
Bangkok shutdown: Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters thronged Bangkok today. Police kept a low profile and the head of the army denied a coup is in the works.
Bangkok shutdown: Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters thronged Bangkok today. Police kept a low profile and the head of the army denied a coup is in the works.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in a so-far peaceful demonstration in Bangkok, the Thai capital, to press for the removal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Reuters reports that "police and soldiers kept a low profile" Monday as protesters occupied the streets of Bangkok as part of the opposition's "Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand" movement. The protest movement, led by Suthep Thaugsuban, an opposition leader, has rejected parliamentary elections due on Feb. 2, and is instead demanding a "people's council" seize power and revamp Thailand's democracy. Protesters claim that elections simply entrench the interests of Ms. Yingluck and her family, especially her self-exiled brother, billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was removed in a military coup in 2006.
Reuters writes that "the mood among protesters was festive, with many singing and dancing in the streets" on Monday.
At the same time, notes the BBC's Jonathan Head, the protests were "wearily familiar," and while certainly charged by strong emotion against the Shinawatras, may not be representative of much more.
Protesters "know about the idea of an 'appointed committee' to fix Thai politics, and they can all mouth the slogans 'Reform Before Election', and 'Shutdown Bangkok, Restart Thailand'," he writes, "But asked what would happen if the prime minister resigned, but her own substantial support base outside Bangkok refused to accept this, no one had an answer."
Despite their strong showing in Bangkok, protesters have far less traction outside the cities,聽海角大神's Simon Montlake noted recently, highlighting the urban-rural fault lines of the dispute.
The 800-pound gorilla in the scenario is the Thai military and the possibility of a coup 鈥� an all-to-familiar occurrence in Thai politics. United Press International reports that while the Army's deployment around Bangkok in anticipation of today's protests has heightened worries about a coup's likelihood, Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha denied a coup was in the works and asked the media to stop raising the possibility, according to comments made to The Bangkok Post.